It’s getting closer. I can feel it. The countdown will soon reach 0. Very soon, it will be ‘Houston, We have blast-off.’ In fact, by the time you read this, I might be on another planet.
Well, not quite another planet. However, I will be on a vacation (a stay-cation technically, but that’s not the point). As I write this, I can envision my mother’s finger wagging, “Don’t rush the time away.” She has lectured me on this a time or fifty, and it is truly good advice, but I don’t want to hear it now. I am sooo looking forward to my vacation. I’ll turn off the alarm clock (and be awoken by my children earlier than I would like but that’s a story I’ve told) and be lying in bed during rush hour.
However, the reason I am particularly excited is that the vacation is to celebrate a holiday, Passover. It is an all-encompassing holiday that requires a ton of work to prepare for. In all honesty, my wife does the majority of it. You know how sometimes you prepare for things and ultimately wonder, “Why did I bother?” This holiday is one where all the preparations are necessary and useful.
The theme of the holiday appropriately enough is independence. G-d, through Moses, led the Jews out of Egypt and slavery. The underdog goes free, the bad guys get punished. Pretty great story – almost Disneyish. Anyway, with independence everything is possible. The question is how do you use this newfound independence and freedom. It’s like graduating into adulthood. Many possibilities and challenges – up to each person to make the most of their chance. So, the holiday provides a reminder to appreciate your independence, recognize your freedoms and utilize these gifts to make the most of what you have been given. Pretty great lesson, I would say.